


Invitations

by theoriginalicecreamqueen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Leonard Snart Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 19:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12991011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoriginalicecreamqueen/pseuds/theoriginalicecreamqueen
Summary: When Felicity drags Barry to the latest of Oliver's boring parties, he's sure his evening is ruined. Leonard Snart decides that's not acceptable.





	Invitations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rascalisafatcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rascalisafatcat/gifts).



> Happy Holidays everyone, but especially you Rascalisafatcat! I hope you enjoy.

Barry was, as always, truly amazed with at the power of Felicity Smoak. He told her weeks ago that he was too busy with everything going on in Central City to make it to the latest of Oliver’s mayoral galas. Truthfully, he had no clue at the time whether or not he would be free, but he hated stuff like this.

 

So rather than accepting the admittedly generous invite to what was sure to be one of the biggest parties of the year, he’d assured Felicity early and often that he wouldn’t be able to attend Oliver’s latest ridiculous party. Regardless of his protest, two days ago Felicity had sent him a tux tailored to his exact measurements with a note assuring him that things in Central City would be quite enough to attend.

 

He had no clue how she had managed either, which Barry figured may actually be in his best interest. After hearing stories about Oliver’s friend Constantine last time he was in Star City, he was starting to suspect some real-life magic may have been involved. Barry didn’t think that anything less would have gotten all of Central’s metahumans and criminals to behave for an entire evening.

 

Felicity's machinations proved effective in the worst possible way. Not only had she recruited all of Team Flash to get him to Star City, but no one had bothered making sure he had a date for this stupid party.

 

It had taken all of five minutes for Oliver, Felicity, and the rest of Team Arrow to become completely swarmed, leaving Barry standing alone by the food table. Even Ray was being overtaken by Palmer Tech investors who were apparently quite thrilled about his sudden return from the dead.

 

So Barry stayed put, trying to eat enough so to keep his stomach from growling without anyone realizing just how much he was eating. If he didn’t count the increasingly suspicious catering staff that were starting to pinpoint why they had been refilling the hor dourves so often, Barry was actually having some luck. 

 

“Fancy seeing you here,” a low, dark voice whispered in his ear the man grabbed the hand Barry had been reaching towards some sort of deliciously creamy crab-filled pastry. It was a voice Barry knew well, and one he knew was not welcomed here. Not even if he had just wishing for company.

 

“Snart! What the hell are you doing here?” Barry hissed back, jerking his arm from the criminal’s grasp.

 

“Now, now  _ Barry _ ,” Snart tutted, chuckling lightly before he continued. “There’s no need to be so...  _ cold _ . I was invited to this party, same as you were.”

 

Barry glared through his surprise. Snart, rather than acknowledging Barry’s legitimate threat, was shooting his signature, shit-eating grin at him. The look was entirely to reminiscent of their first tangles over the  Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond, especially when paired with his gorgeous, all black tuxedo.

 

If it wasn’t for how handsome of a figure Snart was in formal wear, Barry would have claimed he looked normal. It was perturbing. 

 

“I’m being serious, Snart,” Barry whisper-yelled back at him.

 

As annoyed as he was, he didn’t dare raise his voice the way he was really wanted to. Barry was fairly sure their deal wouldn’t allow for him to get Snart arrested, even if he did so as Barry Allen, party guest, and not as a superhero or CSI.

 

“You shouldn’t call me that here. It’s too conspicuous. Call me Len. And for your information, I really was invited. Not that I have to explain myself to you,” Snart drawled back, voice still at that low register that was really starting to affect him more than Barry was comfortable with.

 

“Sn… Fine, I mean, Len,” Barry started, using the name Snart gave out at his glare. “...Len, there’s no way you were actually invited to this party. Now could you please just go ahead and tell me what you’re here to steal, so I can decide if it’s worth it stop you, and we can both get on with our evenings.”

 

“I’m not here to steal anything, Scarlet. I’m here as Sara’s plus one,” Snart cheerily confided, ignoring Barry’s surprised snort. “Well, one-half technically. Mick’s around here somewhere as her other half. Her dad pissed her off going on about how that assassin ex-girlfriend of hers couldn’t come even though the League’s disbanded, and she figured Mick and I would piss him off more than anyone else she could get on such short notice.”

 

Barry gaped at Snart - no Len - mouth hanging open slightly until Len stuffed a mini quiche in it. As he struggled not to choke, Barry tried to mesh the idea that Oliver’s ex-girlfriend actually invited his supervillain thieves to an event full of people they were probably planning how to rob. At least, Barry was sure they were planning to now if they hadn’t been before the party. 

 

What was the White Canary thinking?

 

“You’re joking, right?” Barry hoped.

 

“Nope,” snorted Len gleefully. “Detective Lance has threatened to arrest, maim, or murder Mick or me 11 times tonight already. 12 if you count his insistence we meet Oliver Queen, seeing as how you and I both know how fond the mayor is of personally dealing with criminals in Star City. It’s been the most fun I’ve had without committing at least a misdemeanor in years.”

 

Barry choked on the chocolate truffle he’d just eaten. Len knew that Oliver was the Arrow? What the hell was going on in Star City?

 

“I’ve gotten to know Detective Lance pretty well. You should probably be careful, because I sincerely doubt he’s joking,” warned Barry, deciding he was not going to touch on one of his criminals apparently knowing who the Arrow was.

 

Despite his words and worry over Oliver’s inevitable (potentially murderous) fit when he found out what Len was hinting, he was laughing a little to himself. Captain Lance may have been a great cop, but Barry still doubted that the man could get one over on Leonard Snart. The man had face down The Flash, Vandal Savage, Time Masters and god know who else as he travelled through time. Barry was confident that Len would walk out of this gala with the usual skip in his step.

 

“I’m sure Captain Lance 100% serious, but Sara’ll stop him if he gets too riled. After all, I’m sure you’ve heard I lean a bit more towards your side of things these days,” Len replied.

 

While Barry had been not-so-secretly gloating for months about Captain Cold’s journey to heroism (dragging Heatwave along with him) during their absence from Central City, something about that statement was bothering him. Why was Len so confident in the White Canary’s abilities, especially since he now knew Barry was here too. He was the one who could catch all the bullets Lance was likely to shoot tonight.

 

Plus The Flash was Captain Cold’s hero, not the White Canary. Their temporary relocation to Star City shouldn’t change that.

 

“If there’s anything I learned traveling through time, it was not to piss off Sara Lance,” continued Len, either unaware or uncaring of how much his words were bothering Barry. 

 

Probably uncaring, if Barry was forced to guess. Even on his best behavior, Leonard Snart had a penchant to getting under his skin. Barry had no doubt that Len would use even something as nonsensical as this was to throw him off his game.

 

Barry rolled his eyes, deciding he really didn’t want to hear why exactly Len had become so fond of Sara. It was none of his business, and Len probably wouldn’t tell him anything anyways.

 

“So is that why you’re bothering me instead of her? Surely Sara is starting to miss half her date.”

 

Len laughed at his words, startling Barry. He would have never guessed the thief was capable of such as joyous sound. The only time he’d seen Len even half this open was after he’d shot his father through the heart with his cold gun, but this was something very different. Len’s laughter was carefree and full of a warmth that had never shown when he was wearing his ridiculously fluffy hood.

 

“My decision to talk to you has nothing to do with Sara,” Len told him. “I thought I’d come say hello because you looked like you could use someone to save you from your boredom, and I  _ have _ been working on being more heroic lately.”

 

“You’re so full of it. Can’t you just admit you might have actually missed me?” Barry snorted.

 

The eyeroll Barry’s words prompted was expected. Len’s words were not.

 

“Of course I missed you,  _ Scarlet _ . ”

 

Barry shoved Len’s arm at the ridiculous nickname, flushing in a way that he hated was going to prove his Len’s annoying nickname as accurate. Barry was trying to have a real conversation here, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Leonard Snart wasn’t capable of it. The thief had too much fun making fun of Barry to do anything else.

 

“Is it physically painful for you to not be a sarcastic dick for five minutes?” he asked Len.

 

Len’s face softened at his words into something Barry had never seen, something amused but also unmistakably fond. “I’m not trying to be a dick. I really did miss you, just like I really came over here to see you. If there is anything I learned traveling through time - other than not to piss off Sara, of course - it’s that you, Barry Allen, really are one of kind.”

 

He wanted to snap back at Len the minute he finished speaking, but Barry wasn’t sure why so he held his tongue. They were kind words, and the uncharacteristic sincerity was heartfelt enough that Barry didn’t doubt Len meant them. If anyone besides Len said this this him, he’d think… 

 

Wait… There was no way, right?

 

“I… are you flirting with me?”

 

“Course I am,” Len admitted with a small but genuine smile. “Haven’t done anything else since the day I realized the the Streak was really a twink in red leather fetish gear. Are you really only figuring that out now? I thought you were supposed to be a smart one.”

 

“You’re flirting with me!”

 

Len rolled his eyes, his softness giving way to a much more typical exasperation. “Yes, Barry. I literally just told you that.”

 

Well, excuse him for being a bit redundant. It wasn’t every day he found out that his longest running, most attractive, and (partially) reformed supervillain apparently had a crush on him. Barry felt perfectly entitled to his shock, even if it was causing Len so much amusement at his expense.

 

“You’ve been flirting with me this whole time?” Barry sought confirmation. Even just saying it sounded ridiculous, and Len was laughing at him, but it wasn’t unkind.

 

“Why don’t we get out of here? I’m sure there is somewhere in this god forsaken hellhole of a city that can actually feed you properly while you have this little crisis,” Len offered him.

 

That was a horrible idea! He shouldn’t be going on something that sounded suspiciously like a date with a professional thief, not even one as pretty as Len was. Even if it would be a great, Felicity-approved excuse to leave early, and he would get more food.

 

Then again, Len  _ was _ mostly reformed these days. He and Mick had been suspiciously crime-free since they returned to the present.

 

“I… yeah. That sounds great,” decided Barry. 

 

It may have been a terrible choice, but the grin Len shot him as they snuck out the serving entrance was definitely worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think either here on my Tumblr, theoriginalicecreamqueen.


End file.
